The present invention relates to methods and devices for achieving hemostasis and more particularly relates to endoscopic methods and devices for achieving hemostasis.
Currently, hemostasis is addressed endoscopically by injection therapy, contact thermal or electrocoagulation or mechanical hemoclips. However, each of these techniques has drawbacks. For example, the agents injected in injection therapy may enter the blood stream and produce undesired side effects and each of these methods may, under certain conditions, fail to achieve the desired hemostasis. When any of these methods fails to adequately stop the bleeding, emergency surgery is performed and a surgeon sutures the bleeding wound closed.
These methods have been employed, for example, in the treatment of bleeding which arises naturally as in the case of Peptic Ulcer Disease (PUD) as well as bleeding resulting from surgical procedures such as endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). However, such post EMR lesions may be too large to achieve the required hemostasic and/or to promote healing of the surrounding tissue.